Barriers

Work Area Description

Despite a large literature focusing on public governance (at the environmental level), on self-evaluation and social return on investment (at the organizational level), little is known about both environmental and organizational barriers impeding the ability of third sector organizations to generate socio-economic impact and ways in which these barriers can be reduced or eliminated.

Objectives and Goals

Third Sector Impact aims to fill this knowledge gap by conducting research in European countries that represent a broad spectrum of positions on the continuum of government reliance on third parties and government incorporation of market-type tools to structure the resulting partnerships. Project countries differ also in the extent to which they have shifted their forms of interaction with TSOs from grants and subsidies to contracts and market-based vouchers and reimbursement systems. This will allow to assess the consequences of these different patterns of government-nonprofit interaction for the operation and effectiveness of third-sector organizations.

Drawing on neo-institutional theories TSI will explore

the consequences various forms of government-nonprofit interaction have on the phenomenon of organizational isomorphism (the blurring of boundaries among types of organizations and

which environmental and organizational arrangements most seriously impede (barriers) or enable (solutions) the impacts of the third sector in the areas of employment, work integration, urban regeneration, social capital and trust, civic engagement, innovation, sense of well-being among European citizens.

Dr. Annette Zimmer, Professor of Social Policy and Comparative Politics at Münster University was affiliated with the Program on Non-profit-Organizations at Yale University (USA) and with the John Hopkins Project. She served as the DAAD Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto (Canada), and as a visiting scholar at the American Institute for Contemporary Germany Studies (AICGS) in Washington D.C. Currently, she is a member of the Advisory Board of the German Survey on Volunteering (Freiwilligensurvey), which is funded by the Federal Government. She is the author of numerous books and articles. Most recently, she became president-elect of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR).
Annette is lead researcher for Third Sector Impact work area 3 (external and internal barriers to third sector development). She serves as executive board member together with Lester Salamon (JHU), Karl Henrik Sivesind (ISF) and Bernard Enjolras (ISF).

Relevant Publications

In the 19th century, Germany stood out for its heterogeneity and German society was almost as pillarized as the one of the Netherlands. The article analyzes that civil society of modern Germany is based on at least three distinctive ideological or normative traditions, in particular social democracy, catholic subsidiarity and liberalism.

The chapters of the volume investigate whether, how and to what extent nonprofit or civil society organizations all over Europe have to cope with changing organizational environments regarding funding, recruitment of personnel and government support. Developments are tracked in selected countries and distinct policy fields, amongst those the art and culture, social services and sports.

For decades membership organizations embedded in social and popular movements have been the hallmark of civil society in the Scandinavian countries. The volume analyzes the impact of trends like professionalization and marketization on Scandinavian civil societies with the goal of addressing the question: Is the Scandinavian “model” of civil society at stake?

Henriksen/Smith/Zimmer (2012) At the Eve of Convergence? Transformation of Social Service Provision in Denmark, Germany, and the United States. In: Voluntas, Vol 23, No 2: 458-50.

Besides government, nonprofit organizations used to be the most important providers of social services in a variety of social policy fields. However, this is no longer the case. The article investigates whether and to what extent social service provision is becoming more similar regarding the organizational form of the provider (commercial, public or nonprofit). The picture is complex. But, there is definitely a common trend: Commercial providers are on the march; nonprofits and particularly public providers are loosing ground.

Projects

Welfare Innovations at the Local Level in Favour of Cohesion, WILCO (2010 – 2013)
Münster participated in the EU-funded Framework 7 research project that investigated social innovations at the local level. A key finding of the Münster team was that in the city of Münster social innovations work best, if they are put forward by strong coalitions of local stakeholders. A key stakeholder for innovative governance in Münster is doubtlessly the local municipality and hence Münster´s administration.
http://www.wilcoproject.eu/Cities as laboratories of innovative Governance in Europe and the USA, PACT (2013-2015)
Under the EU framework 7 of Marie Curie Münster is the co-ordinator of a scholary exchange program which is hosted by Georgetown University in Washington D.C. The program focuses on the topic of innovative governance in local administration in the U.S., Germany and Denmark.
http://www.uni-muenster.de/GraSP/pact/whatispact.htmlLocal Politics of Citizen Engegament. Baseline Study, Advancement and Evaluation (2008 – 2010)
Funded by the German Federal Government (BMFSFJ), the project investigated at the local level of governance initiatives and nonprofit organizations as well as departments of local governments that aim at providing support and advice for local nonprofits as well as for community members and citizens interested in volunteering. The project focused on the topic what works best and how to co-operate.
Leaders in economically active nonprofit organisations and the management of citizen engagement (2007 – 2009)
The project, funded by the German Federal Government (BMFSFJ), investigated how nonprofit organizations in selective policy fields (arts and culture, social service provision, and sports) cope with changing environments. In particular, the project addressed the topic of whether the increased trend towards commercialization of nonprofit organizations endangers their civicness. Are NPOs working in competitive markets still able to fulfill community functions? It is still possible to work with volunteers? Do they still lobby on behalf of specific groups?

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Great news from TSI: the UN Statistics Division will issue a new guidance manual for Satellite Accounts on Nonprofit and Related Institutions and Volunteer Work that embodies TSI's conceptualization of the third sector
#thirdsector #measurement

July 12, 2017 10:54 am

People's #trust in the UK charity sector seems to be alive and kicking, despite political campaings
#thirdsector #impact

July 5, 2017 9:17 am

Third Sector Impact added a new photo.

July 5, 2017 9:16 am

And we even have a panel at #6EMESconf, with Bernard Enjolras, Taco Brandsen, Francesca Petrella and Benedikt Pahl

July 5, 2017 7:43 am

TSI's Rafael Chaves is sharing his and Teresa Savall's analysis of the gaps between national and EU policy discourse to support third sector and social economy and the reality in Spain
#6EMESconf

July 5, 2017 7:07 am

Sharing results of the TSI project at 6th EMES European Research Network conference in Louvain-la-Neuve. Currently Ulla Pape on the changing policy environment for #TSOs

June 27, 2017 3:07 pm

Also coming up: Tenth Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR)

Fellow FP7 project Creating Economic Space for Social Innovation produced a new paper on the politics of social innovation that formulates policy recommendations how to best support social innovation in various contexts.
#socinn #replicationhttp://mailchi.mp/8487250eab3e/cressi-news-15?e=b9f90a9ce7